A few pounds lighter, but happy to be at the beach!
So for my "good" week I was able to fly back to Miami and that meant lots of capoeira. And finally I can answer the question of how much will I be able to train while on chemo. Join me in a look back at the week and you can decide . . .
Back teaching my class on Thursday and schooling my students in the roda.
Hanging out with the UCA crew at their Friday Roda.
Posing after a great Saturday class and roda at the Cordão de Ouro Academy!
Spent the evening of the fourth with my old friend Hector on Hollywood Beach.
Dinorá is doing a great job teaching classes. Here she is leading the Sunday class.
#sundayselfie is the new "thing".
What better place to see Jurassic World IMAX than a Science Museum. Oh and with my favorite person ;)
Great turnout and six different capoeira groups for my final roda before returning to Mayo Clinic. What Axé!
Teaching my song "Capoeira é Superação" before the roda.
Remembering Instructor Venom, 4 months after his tragic death :(
Great to finally meet my capoeira grand-daughter, Aritaninha.
And finally, this is chemotherapy on Capoeira . . .
So a lot has happened since I last posted here. In March of this year I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Three weeks after my diagnosis I underwent surgery to remove the cancer. Luckily, the testing indicated that the cancer had not spread. However as the cancer is a very malignant type the recommendation was chemotherapy and radiation.
playing capoeira 8 weeks after surgery in Orlando, FL
Concerned with my quality of life and my ability to continue teaching and playing capoeira, I researched carefully the benefits and dangers of chemotherapy. I have been convinced by doctors and more importantly family that my best chance for preventing the cancer's return is to begin aggressive chemotherapy. Thanks to my sister Catharine, I have been able to come to Rochester, MN for the summer to receive my treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Just yesterday I began the process by having a port surgically inserted under my skin. This will be used to administer the chemotherapy more effectively.
port used to administer chemo
In researching how chemotherapy will affect my ability to train capoeira, I was unable to find anything posted online. For this reason I have decided to post here about my experiences in the hope that in the future someone will find this helpful. I am a very private person, but having a very public persona as a professor of capoeira means that others may wish to follow my story. All I can report so far is that the surgery to implant the port was fairly simple. There is pain and discomfort afterwards, but no need for pain medication.
I begin chemotherapy treatments next week after a cross country road trip with my son. I'm hoping to continue teaching and training capoeira as much as possible. #capoeirastrong #superação
